Variable-speed gearing.



A; SUNDH. VARIABLE SPEED GEARING.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 28, 1909.

Patented May 5, 1914.

5] mac- VII/1701 AUGUST SUNDH, OF YQNKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB. TO OTISELEVATOR COMPANY,

' F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY. A. GOBPORATION OF NEW J ERSEY.

VARIABLE-SPEED GEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Application filed Jnne 28, 1909. Serial No. 594,634..

Yonkers, in the county of Westchester andv State of New. York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Variable-Speed Gearing, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to power transmission mechanism, and comprises aseries of gears through which power may be transmitted from a primemover to a driven member, and means for controlling the operation ofsaid gears by a liquid which forms part of the power transmitting means.

The invention further comprises clutch mechanism cooperating with saidgears, and means for controlling said clutch mechanism and gears toeffect the operation of the driven member in either direction and at anydesired speed.

In the usual form of power transmitting mechanism as applied toautomobiles and other machinery, the speed changing gearing has to behandled with care in order to avoid injury to the mechanism, and thisgearing is often hard to operate when working under a load, so that inmany cases the speed of the prime mover has to be reduced or clutchesdisconnected before the gearing can be operated to change the speed.

"One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome thesedifliculties by employing a series of gears in which a liquid is used asa means for connecting or disconnecting the gears from a driving,member, and providing in combination therewith controlling meansoperable to gradually vary the connections with easeand without placingany sudden or undue strain upon the mechanism even when the speedisrapidly changed" and regardless of the load conditions.

-Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the scope ofthe invention being defined in the appended claims, in which are setforth the novel combinations of elements.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a part sectionalelevation of mechanism embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is asectional view of the reversing clutch; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevationof one of the gears; Fig. his a detail view I 'of one of the valves usedin connection with the gears.

A P im m v hi h may be y suit b form of motor, and which is here'shownas a gas englne E is connected as by means of a belt 1 to drive a shaft2. The engine E "may operate continuously in one direction,

end of the shaft 3 being journaled in said, casing. A second shaft 6parallel with the shaft 3, extends through the lower portion of thecasing and is journaled therein. The

right hand end of the shaft 6 is journaled in a standard 7 mounted onthe bed plate 8 on which the gas engine E is also mounted. A gear wheel9 is mounted on the shaft ,3

and is free to rotate independently of the shaft-but is prevented frommoving longitudinally of the shaft by means of rings 10. This'gear wheel9 is in mesh with a gear Wheel 11 keyed to the shaft 6. A sprocket gearwheel 12 is also mounted to rotate independently of the shaft 3, andisconnected by means of a sprocket chain 13 with the sprocket wheel 14:secured to the driven shaft 15. The gear wheels 9 and 12 form members ofclutch mechanism as will presently appear. Between these gear wheels isa sleeve 16 splined on the shaft 3, so as to be movable longitudinallythereof, and connected by links 17 and 18 to the inner clutch members 19and 20, cooperating with the clutch members 9 and 12 respectively. Ahollow shaft or sleeve 21 is mounted on the shaft 3 and is adapted torotate independently of the shaft 3. Keyed tothehoiiow shaft 2l andlocated Within the casing 5 is a series of stepped gear wheels at, b, cand d, which mesh respectively with gear wheels 1 a, b, c and d,'mountedon'the shaft 6. A sleeve 22 is splined on the hollow shaft 21 and isconnected by radial arms 23 with a clutch member 24 coeperating with theclutch member 12. Clutch operating levers 25 and 26 are pivoted at theirlower ends to an arm 27 formed on the standard 7 and ex- I the gear 39.

tending across to the casing 5. These levers 25 and 26 are provided withlugs or antifriction rollers engaging annular recesses formed in thesleeves 16 and 22, respectively; so that a movement of the levers abouttheir pivots will move the sleeves longitudinally. The upper ends of thelevers 25 and 26 are connected by a link 28. A rod 29 is pivoted at oneend to the lever 25 and at itsoppo site end to a crank arm 30 secured toa shaft 31 journaled in the upper end of a standard 32. A worm wheel 33secured to the shaft 31 is in mesh with the worm on the worm shaft 34journaled in the upper end of the bracket 32. A hand Wheel 35 providedwith a handle 36 is secured to the worm shaft 34. The gears a, Z), 0 andcl are similar in construction so that a detailed description of onewill suffice for all. The gear a for example as shown in Figs. 1 and 3comprises a hollow member or casing 37 on which is formed an annularseries of gear teeth, and a cover plate 38. Within this casing is a.pair of intermeshing gears 39 and 40 adapted to be driven by hydraulicpressure. The gear 39 is keyed to the shaft 6, and the gear 40'isjournaled'on the shaft 41, eccentric of the shaft 6. The gear casing hasan inner portion 42 concentric with the shaft 41, and in position tocotiperate with the teeth on the gear wheel 40, so that a liquid in thegear a cannot escape past the gear 40 at this point. The gear a isprovided with an ex tension 43 which likewise cotlperates with The part43 is formed with a passage 44 extending through the gear a; and forminga valve chamber for a valve 45. The latter comprises sections 46, 47 and48, secured to or formed integral with the valve stem. 7

Ports '49 establish communication between the valve chamber 44 and theinterior of the gear a. Check valves 50 and 51 (see Figs. 3 and 4) areplaced within the gear a and open inwardly. These valves permit liquidto freely enter the gear a, and thereby maintain it filled with liquid,but do not permit the escape of liquid from the gear. The valve 45 isoperated by means of alever 52 pivoted at 53 to the gear a and connectedat 54 to a sleeve 55 slidable on the hub of the gear a. A lever 56 ispivoted at 57 and is provided at its lower end with studs engaging anannular recess58 formed .in the sleeve 55. The gears b, c and (Z areprovided with valves 45, 45' and 45 respectively, corresponding to thevalve 45. These valves are operated by levers 56 56 and 56 connected attheir upper ends to a horizontal rod 60. A rod 61 is connected at oneend to the upper end of the lever 56 and its opposite end to a crank arm62 secured to the shaft 31.

The operation will be understood from the following description. .Vhenthe engine E is running the motion will be transmitted through thereversing clutch It and rotate the shaft 3. When the parts are in theposition shown, the sleeve 16 on the shaft 3 will rotatethe clutchmembers 19 and 9 which are in frictional engagement and transmit motionthrough the gear 11 to the shaft 6.

The clutch members 12 and 20 are at this time dis-engaged, so that thegear 12 is not driven directly by the shaft 3. The gear 12 is connectedthrough the clutch member 24 and the sleeve 22, to the hollow shaft 21so as to rotate therewith. The shaft 6 rotates the gears 39 and 40 andthereby forces a liquid from one side to the other of these gears in awell-known manner. As the valve 45 is at this time in position to openthe ports 49, the liquid driven by the gears 39 and 40 circulates freelywithin the gear at. There is likewise a free circulation of liquid inthe gears Y), 0 and at If now the operator rotates the hand wheel 35 soas tocause a counterclockwise rotation of the worm gear 33, thefollowing operations will take place: The right hand end of the rod 29will be moved upward, but as it is nearing dead cenfor it will cause butlittle movement of the levers 25 and 26, so that the clutch connectionsare unaffected at this time. The rod 61 however will be movedlongitudinally to the right, imparting a parallel movement to the levers56, 56 56 and 56 about their pivots, and thereby effect a movement ofthe valves 45, 45", 45, and 45 to the left. The initial movement of thevalve 45 gradually brings the section 47 over the ports49 and therebycuts off the further circulation of liquid in the gear a. As the gears39 and 40 are thus prevented from rotating within the gear a, the latterwill be caused to rotate with the gear 39 and shaft 6. This motion istransmitted through the gear wheel a, the hollow shaft 21, the sleeve22, clutch members 24 and 12, sprocket chain 13, wheel 14 and shaft 15.A continued movement of the valve 45 to the left gradually moves thesection 47 past the ports 49, thereby again opening the latter andallowing the gears 39.and 40 to rotate within the gear a. At the sametime the valve 45 is moved into position to close the ports 49 in thegear wheel I) causing the latter to be positively driven by the shaft 6.This motion is transmitted through the gear wheel 5 and from thence tothe driven member 15. Owing to the relative sizes of these gears, thespeed of the driven member is increased. The continued movement of thevalves to the left next closes the ports 49 in the gear cand opens theports 49 so that the gear 0 now acts as a driving member and furtherincreases the speed. The final movement of the valves to the left opensthe port'49 and closes the port 49 in the gear d, which thereforeoperates to drive the hollow shaft 21. and connected parts at thehighest speed. By this time the end of the rod 29 has been moved upwardbeyond the dead center and into such position that a continuedrotationof the worm wheel will move the levers 25 and 26 to the left.The crank arm 62 is also by this time in substantially the position inwhich the crank arm 30 is shown, so that this continued rotation of theworm gear will not substantially affect the valves. As the levers 26 and27 are moved to the left, the sleeve 22 gradually disconnects the clutchmembers 12 and 24. Movement of the sleeve 16 at the same time graduallyconnects the clutch members 20 and 12, and disconnects the clutchmembers 19 and 9. In this position of parts the shaft 3 is directlyconnected to drive the sprocket wheel 12, the latter being now free torotate independently" of the hollow shaft 21. In

other words the engine E is now connected to drive the shaft 15independently of the gears within the casing 5. The gear.9 is also atthis time disconnected from the shaft 3, so that no. motion is impartedto the shaft 6. In other words, the mechanism within the casing 5 isentirely disconnected from the engine E. During these changes in thepower transmitting mechanism the worm wheel 33 has been rotated throughsubstantially 180. By rotating this wheel in the reverse directiontoward initial position, the gear connections will be changed in thereverse order. That is t 3. direct connection between the engine E a dthe drivenmember will be broken, and the engine connected through thegears d and d to drive at the highest speed, and the speed thengradually reduced and the transmitting mechanism finally disconnected sothat the shaft 15 will come to rest.

When the mechanism is drivin through the gears d and d, the speed of t ehollow shaft 21 is preferably substantially the same as that of-theshaft 3, so that when the clutch mechanism is operated to effect adirect driving engagement between the engine and the shaft 15, therewill be little variation in the speed. The reversing mechanism Rcomprises a clutch and a planetary gearing, h'ere shown as astandardtype of planetary. gear-clutch reversing mechanism, but any otherapproved form of reversing mechanism may be substituted therefor. Thismechanism comprises a casing loosely mounted on the adjacent ends of theshafts 2 and 3. An annular flange 71 formed on this casing providesinner and outer friction surfaces with which the members 72 and 73respectively cooperate. The inner clutch member 72 is an expansion ringoperated by means of a sleeve 74 splined on the shaft 3. The sleeve 74is operated by means of the lever 4, which is provided with lugsengaging an annular recess in the sleeve 74. The outer frictionbrake-mefnber 73 is connected'at 75 to the standard 7, and is in theform of a split ring provided at its ends with lugs having screwthreadedopenings to receive a rod 76 having right and left hand screwthreads.Secured to therod 76 is an arm 77 formed with a slot 78 engaged by a pin79 on the lever 4. With the parts in the position shown, the member 72is in fric tional contact with the flange 71 and the brake ring 73 isout of driving engagement with said flange. When the operating lever 4is moved about its pivot the sleeve 74 is moved to the left, therebyretractin the ex- 72 and freeing it rom the rotates the gear wheel 81,which in turn rotates the member 82. The latter meshing with the gear 83keyed to the casing 70, causes the member 80 to rotate about its axisrotating with it theshaft 3. The member 82 has therefore a planetarymotion rotating about its own axis and also revolving about the shaft 2.The casing 70 at this time being connected through the clutch member 72to the sleeve 74 and the shaft 3, rotates with the said shaft. If theclutch lever 4 is operated to disconnect the clutch member 72 andconnect the brake member 73, the operation will be as follows: Thecasing 70 will be held stationary by the brake member 73, and thereforethe gear wheel 83 will be held station ary. The gear 81 which rotateswith the shaft 2 will rotate the member 82 about its t the same time thearm 77 is 7 own axis, and as said member is in mesh with the stationarygear 83, the member 82 will be compelled to revolve about the shaft 2 asan axis, carrying with it the member 80, and therefore rotating theshaft 3 in the opposite direction from the shaft 2.

The particular construction and arrangement of the mechanism as hereinshown may be varied in many ways without departing from thespirit andscope of the invention, and I wish therefore not to be limited to theparticular construction shown.

. The invention is well adapted for use with automobiles, and withvarious tools, such' as large planers, lathes, boring'mills, etc.; itmay also be used with many kinds of ele vators, and for various otherpurposes.

What I claim is. new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1. In power transmitting mechanism, the combinationwith a drivingmemberand a driven member, of'a series of gears, means tocontain a fluid in which said gears are immersed; and means controllingthe circulation of the fluid for successively locking the gears to oneof said members.

:2. In power transmitting mechanism, the combination of a rotary member,a plurality of gears mounted thereon, valve mechanisms associated withsaid gears, a liquid in which said valve mechanisms and portions of thegears carrying said valve mechanisms are immersed, said liquid beingcapable of entering the gears, means controlled by the valve mechanismswhereby the gears are successively locked to said rotary member, andmeans for operating the valve mechanisms.

3. ln power t 'ansmitting mechanism, the combination of a shaft, aplurality of gears mounted thereon, fluid controlled devices within saidgears for locking them to the shaft, means for effecting the successiveoperation of said devices, a receptacle containing said gears, fluidwithin the receptacle, and means to place said fluid in communicationwith said fluid controlled devices.

4. The combination with a rotary element, of a series of rotary membersmounted thereon, a fluid clutch in each member comprising a controllingvalve, and means for successively bringing the valves to operativeposition by a. simultaneous movement of the valves.

5. The combination of a series of gears, a fluid clutch associated witheach gear and comprising fluid operated mechanism within the gear,valves con trolling the operation of said clutches, a casing to containliquid, common to and inclosing said valves and in which liquid the saidvalves are immersed, means to restrain said liquid from leaving thegears, and mechanism for operating the valves.

6. in power transmitting mechanism, the combination of a rotary element,rotary members thereon, a clutch for each of said members comprising adevice carried by the members to control the clutch, and means to effectthe successive ope-ration of the clutches by a simultaneous operation ofsaid devices.

7. In power transmitting mechanism, the combination of a rotary element,gears carried thereby, a clutch associated with each gear and operativeto connect it with the said rotary element, devices rotatable with saidelement and. controlling the operation of the clutches, and meanscooperating with the clutches to singly and successively connect thegears to the rotary element by a simultanemis operation of said devices.

8. in power transn'iitting mechanism, the combination of a rotatableshaft, gears mounted thereon, a clutch for each gear, a clutch operatingdevice carried by each gear and operable to effect a gradual connectionanddisconnection of the gear to and from the shaft, and means to effecta move- 1,o'a arm ment of the clutch operating devices successively tooperative position by a simultaneous operation of said clutch operatingdevices.

9. The combination of a rotary member, a plurality of gears mountedthereon, a fluid clutch associated with each gear, an operating devicefor each clutch, and means for continuously and simultaneously operatingsaid devices and thereby successively connecting each gear to the rotarymember and disconnecting each gear as the succeeding gear is connected.

10. In power transmitting mechanism, the combination with a. shaft, of aplurality of hollow rotary members mounted thereon, clutch mechanismlocated within said mem bers and adapted to be operated by restrictingthe circulation of liquid within said members, said mechanism comprisingvalves, by-passes in said members, said valves controlling saidby-passes, means to simultaneously operate said valves and by suchoperation to cause said valves to close and open said by-passessuccessively, and thereby successively connect said members to theshaft, means to contain a liquid in which the said hollow rotary membersare immersed, and check valves in the hollow members opening inwardly toprevent exit of the liquid from'the interior of the hollow members.

11. In power transmission mechanism, the combination with a prime mover,of a driving shaft connected thereto, a second shaft parallel with thedriving shaft, a hollow shaft mounted on said driving shaft, a series ofstepped gears secured to said hollow shaft, a series of gears mounted onsaid second shaft, and meshing with said first-named gears, clutchdevices associated with said gears and operable to connect said secondshaft and said hollow shaft through the pairs of intermesliing gearssuccessively, a driven member, driving connections comprising a clutchbetween said driven memher and said hollow shaft, driving connectionscomprising a clutch between the driving shaft and said second shaft, andmeans for operating said clutch devices and clutches successively tooperate the driven member through said pairs of intermeshing gearssuccessively, and then to disconnect the hollow shaft and said secondshaft from the driving shaft, and connect the latter to the drivenmember independently of said gears.

12. In power transmission mechanism, the combination with a casing, of ashaft within the casing, hollow power transmitting members mounted onsaid shaft, and liquid within the casing, inwardly opening check valvesin said hollow members, means within said members for causing a localcirculation of liquid when said members and shaft have a relativerotation, means for checking the circulation of liquid within saidmembers, and ower transmitting gear mg cooperating wit said members.

13. The combination of a rotatable shaft, gears mounted thereon,clutches connected with the gears, clutch operating devices carried bythe said gears, connections between the levers and said operatingdevices, and means to operate the levers as a unitary device and therebyeffect the successive operation of the clutches.

14. The combination of a shaft, gears mounted thereon, a fluid clutch ineach gear, each clutch comprising a valve carried by the gears andcontrolling the operation of 15 structed to effect the successiveoperation of 20 the clutches when the levers are operated.

In testimony whereof, I have signed myname to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

' AUGUST SUNDH.

Witnesses:

L. H. CAMPBELL, JAMES Gr. BETHELL.

